By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

Chapter 249: The Operation Begins

Soon, Liu Chengyun was taken away.

Unable to contain his anger, Yu Jiacheng swore, "Beasts! A bunch of beasts!"

Wen Zongji's face was also gloomy, but he was not surprised by this.

After all, such things are not uncommon in later generations, let alone in this era where people are not treated as human beings.

But this did not diminish his anger.

Wen Zongji considered himself an extremely self-centered person, and he never cared about what others thought.

Even though he was so selfish, he would never harm women and children. In fact, he despised rape traffickers and human traffickers the most, as neither of them deserved to be called human.

"First, get the list and see who in Tongzhou Guard has been bribed. Then, see if Yangzhou Guard has been bribed. This matter involves too many units. Relying solely on Tongzhou Guard is not enough to wipe them all out."

Yu Jiacheng has already sent people to handle it: "Luckily it's nighttime, we still have time... Sir, after the list of troublemakers, should we arrest Huang Yecai first? He definitely knows more than Liu Chengyun. If we arrest him, the others won't be able to escape."

Wen Zongji nodded: "Arrest him! Arrest Huang Yecai immediately."

The promise to surround the prefectural government office early tomorrow morning was just a ruse to deceive Liu Chengyun. Once they obtained the evidence, they would naturally arrest Huang Yecai immediately.

……

Yu Jiacheng's men worked quickly and retrieved the list in no time. Wen Zongji didn't have time to look at it closely, so he told Yu Jiacheng to make a copy as soon as possible while checking if Yangzhou Guard was on the list.

As a result, Wen Zongji breathed a sigh of relief.

Huang Yecai couldn't control too many people with his beauty. Most of them were merchants, and they were won over by Huang Yecai mainly because they relied on his power.

As for the officials involved—

The entire Tongzhou area is beyond saving; it has been corrupted from top to bottom.

The rest were mostly middle and lower-level officials.

In addition, there were some officials from the Ministry of Personnel responsible for assessments, which is why Huang Ye was able to stay in Tongzhou for so many years.

At the same time, Wen Zongji also figured out why no one had mentioned that the amount of mud used was insufficient when the imperial court sent an imperial envoy to investigate the dam breach last year. It turned out that the group of people had been bribed by Huang Yecai with his beauty.

Furthermore, since Xie Zixing had indeed adjusted the thickness of the dam, and there was no harm in using a ready-made scapegoat, the group readily accepted Huang Yecai's bribe and shifted all the blame onto Xie Zixing.

Yu Jiacheng used the fastest hand speed he had ever used in his life: "Sir, the copying is finished."

Wen Zongji nodded: "Put the original away and come with me to see Xiao Linggao."

Since the decision had been made to act overnight, the only option was to meet Xiao Linggao under the cover of darkness.

The meeting with Xiao Linggao went smoothly.

Xiao Linggao showed no anger at being woken up. Instead, he laughed heartily and said, "From the first day you entered Tongzhou City, I was wondering when you would come to find me. I didn't expect it to be in the middle of the night."

Wen Zongji asked in surprise, "Did Commander Xiao guess I would come?"

Xiao Linggao looked at him strangely: "You don't know about our relationship, do you?"

"What's the relationship?"

Wen Zongji was completely bewildered. He couldn't recall having any connection with Xiao Linggao!

Xiao Linggao doesn't seem to come from a noble family, does he?

Yu Jiacheng slapped his forehead: "My lord, I forgot, Commander Xiao's wife is the younger sister of Minister Mei of the Ministry of War."

The "Lord Mei" refers to Mei Yanhong, the Vice Minister of War, whose eldest daughter, Mei Yilan, is Pei Shirong's intended wife.

In other words, Xiao Linggao will be Pei Shirong's uncle.

Pei Shirong was Wen Zongji's brother-in-law.

So, they do have some kind of relationship.

Wen Zongji immediately seized the opportunity and said, "Lord Xiao, I was confused."

Next, we'll need Xiao Linggao's help to build a closer relationship so things will go more smoothly.

Xiao Linggao wasn't one to hold grudges, and said, "You must have something important to discuss coming so late?"

Wen Zongji nodded and repeated Liu Chengyun's confession: "Lord Xiao, the most urgent task is to capture Huang Yecai and his cronies, which requires the deployment of troops from Tongzhou Guard."

"no problem."

Xiao Linggao's face turned ashen: "This happened right under my nose, and I didn't even notice. It's my dereliction of duty. Luckily, you found out."

If the bomb explodes in the future, even if Xiao Linggao wasn't involved, he won't be able to continue as the commander.

"Lord Xiao, before deploying troops, you must first eliminate the traitors bribed by Huang Yecai to prevent them from causing trouble."

"With your list, I guarantee no one will get away."

Xiao Linggao had sharp eyes. Thinking of his subordinates who were outwardly obedient but inwardly harbored their own ulterior motives, he had already devised several ways to deal with them.

"Time is of the essence, so I won't keep you any longer, Lord Xiao. Please act as soon as possible."

Xiao Linggao nodded and then sent someone to fetch his armor.

Afterwards, Wen Zongji left the Xiao residence and returned to the Tongzhou branch office. He immediately wrote a letter and gave it to Yu Jiacheng: "Go to Yangzhou in person and find Lu Yiyang. The two of you take the Crown Prince's token to see the Yangzhou Guard Commander and have him lead men to arrest the officials and merchants in other prefectures of Jiangnan who are colluding with Huang Yecai."

"Not a single one can be spared!"

"Yes."

Yu Jiacheng accepted the Eastern Palace token with both hands and left the room with a heart full of emotion.

The city gates are still closed, but Yu Jiacheng has plenty of ways to get them opened.

Shortly after Yu Jiacheng left, Changdong came in and said, "Young master, the yamen has added a squad of Tongzhou garrison soldiers, saying they are here to protect you on the orders of Commander Xiao."

Wen Zongji nodded: "I understand."

Xiao Linggao was clearly worried that some people might resort to desperate measures and send men to deal with Wen Zongji.

Although Wen Zongji was protected by guards from the Marquis's residence, he was grateful that Xiao Linggao had specially sent people to protect him.

Wen Zongji did not rest. While waiting for the news to spread, he wrote down everything he had found out. He handed the account books and lists he had obtained from Liu Chengyun, along with the letter, to Changdong: "Tomorrow morning, have the guards send these things back to the capital as fast as possible and give them to the county princess. Please ask the county princess to pass them on to the crown prince."

"Yes."

Chang Dong responded and left.